GLM-5.1 vs LFM2.5-VL-450M

Pick GLM-5.1 if you want the stronger benchmark profile. LFM2.5-VL-450M only becomes the better choice if you want the cheaper token bill or you would rather avoid the extra latency and token burn of a reasoning model.

GLM-5.1 is clearly ahead on the provisional aggregate, 79 to 33. The gap is large enough that you do not need to squint at the spreadsheet to see the difference.

GLM-5.1's sharpest advantage is in knowledge, where it averages 52.3 against 21.6.

GLM-5.1 is also the more expensive model on tokens at $1.40 input / $4.40 output per 1M tokens, versus $0.00 input / $0.00 output per 1M tokens for LFM2.5-VL-450M. That is roughly Infinityx on output cost alone. GLM-5.1 is the reasoning model in the pair, while LFM2.5-VL-450M is not. That usually helps on harder chain-of-thought-heavy tests, but it can also mean more latency and more token spend in real use. GLM-5.1 gives you the larger context window at 203K, compared with 128K for LFM2.5-VL-450M.